Brush-making machine



u 1 g Aug 6 1927 c. E. FISHER BRUSH I MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 11. 1923' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. FISHER, OF B L IMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR, EY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, To THE FISHER AUTOMATIC BRUSH MACHINE COMPANY, 11m, OF BALTI- MORE, MZABYVLANQVA CORPORATION OF iruu urri lvn.

' BRUSH-MAKING MACHINE.

Application filed January 11, 1923. Serial No. 612,034.

This invention relates to brush-making machines of the type wherein wisps of'fiber or bristle are automatically gathered from a magazine and carried to stapling mechb anism which applies staples to the wisps and secures themto the brush blocks in the form of tufts. Such a machine is illustrated in my co-pending application, Serial No. 479,253, filed June 21, 1921. The present 1U invention relates more particularly to a tilft guide which co-operates with the tuft-ap V plying devices to form and guide the tufts and to keep the previously applied tufts out of the path of the tuft-applying devices. as heretofore constructed, these tuft guides have been given a forward swinging or linear movement to clear the applied tufts out of the wayof the reciprocating staplingdevices and to position the guide toreceive said devices, and a backward movement to carry the tuft guide to the rear of the applied tufts so that it may press these tufts out of the way before the next'descent of the stapling devices. A guide con-. structed and. operating in this way is shown in the machine illustrated in the above identified application, and also in variouspatents granted to others as, for instance, the

patent to- Lebherz, No. 920,588, and the pat-' 3 cut to, Younm & Lebherz, No. 982,340. Where the tufts are long, this requires a relatively long swinging or reciprocating movement of the tuft guide in order that the guide may, in itsbackward movement, swing over and entirely to, the rear of the applied tuft. The tuft guide of my invention is so constructed that-it.may be given a rotary movement, and the part of the guide which clears'the applied tufts out of the way of the tuft applying devices, instead of moving-backwardly over an applied tuft, turns forwardly and at the end of a complete revolution isin position to press the applied tufts out of the way of the descendingtuft-applying devices. This tuft guide is intermittently rotated through the medium of gears and shafts, and the use of reciprocating parts'for operatingthe tuft guide is avoided, which is desirable in .ma

chines of this character which operate at relatively high speeds. I r

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a part of an automatic brush making machine equipped with my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a section approximately on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the tuft applying devices raised and the tuft guide approaching its position of rest;

applying devices in their lower positions, and the tuft guide in its position ofrest; Fig. 4: is a front elevation of the tuft guide; and, o 1

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, a represents the frame of the machine on which is mounted a main shaft land a counter-shaft 2, which is driven from the main shaft by means of a chain belt 3. Upon the main shaft is a crank arm 4, shown in dotted lines in 2, and a link 5 connects this arm with a rocking lever 6, pivoted at its center on. astud 7, which is secured to the frame a, and the oppositeen'd of the rocker is connected to a link 8, which,.in turn, is connected to vertically movable tuft-applying devices comprising a pair of staple guides 9, and a staple. driver 10 which is movable with said guides. WVhen' themachine is in motion, the tuft applying devices are reciprocated between the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In moving downward, these devices co-operate with wisp gathering andstaple forming mechanism to apply a staple to the wisp and carry these downwardand drive the staple into the brush block, indicated at 11. The brush block is mounted upon a table 12 which is automatically shifted after'each tuft has been applied to position the block for receiving the next tuft. As they staple forming and table shifting mechanisms are not a part of the present invention they are not shown or described.

Above the table is shown the tuftguide Z) ofmyinvention; This guide, as shown in the drawing, comprises parallel guide plates Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the tuft 60 13, which are spaced apart by a wall or bridge piece 1 1, the latter connecting the lower forward edges only of the plates, the upper forward edges 13 being separated, as shown in Fig. 4, and the top, rear and bottom edges or margins of the plates being also entirely separated. The general contour of thetuft guide is somewhat oblong with internally grooved portions 13 running from top to bottom. The bridge piece 1% inclines upwardly andforwardly from the lower ends of the plates, and its outer face 14% is channeled or grooved longitudinally, as shown, to effectively engage theapplied tuft-s. A boss 13 projects at right angles to the outer face of one of the plates, at or near its central portion, and this boss fits on to one end of a horizontal shaft 15 which is mounted in suitable hearings on the frame of the machine. The tuft guide is positioned so that the lower tapering ends 9 of the staple guides 9 will pass into the tuft guide when the latter is in the position shown in Fig. 3, and as the staple guides move clownward with the staple and tuft, the ends of the latter will be guided by the grooves 13 v and the staple will be forced into the bloclz,

to secure the tuft, by the driving rod 10. As the staple guides move upward, the tuft guide turns in the direction of the arrow, Figs. 2 and 3, and in so doing the bridge piece 14 passes forwardly through the tufts t which have previously been driven into the block, and at the end of its revolution the bridge piece is at the rear 'of the tufts, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the bridge piece, instead of moving backwardly over the tuftto clear it, moves forwardly and returns at the rear of the tuft, and moves the bristles out of the path of the tuft-applying devices.

The shaft 15 which carries the tuft guide is connected by bevel pinions 16 to an upwardly inclined shaft 17, which carries a bevel pinion 18. This latterpinion engages a mutilated bevel pinion 19, upon. the shaft 2 which is driven from the main shaft 1. The gear or pinion 19 is provided with teeth extending approximately half way around its circumference, and when the staple guides 9 are in their uppermost position and about to descend, which position is shown in Fig. 2, the .tuft guide is in the position shown in said latter figure,the bridge piece 14 being at the rear of the tufts and the tuft guide itself approaching its position of rest. As the staple guides 9 descend, the tuft guide reaches the vertical position,- that is, the position in which its grooves 13 are vertical,'and it then comes to rest by reason of the teeth on the mutilated gear passing out of engagement'with the teeth on the gear 18. The tuft applying devices pass into the guide and deliver the tuft while the guide is stationary, and as the tuft applying devices start to ascend, the teeth on the mutilated gear engage the teeth on the gear 18 and the tuft guide is rotated in the direction of the arrow, from the position shown in Fig. 3, to that shown in Fig. 2, While the tuft applying devices are moving upward. As the said devices start to descend, the tuft guide moves again. to the position shown in Fig. 3, where it dwells until the next tuft is delivered, and then makes another revolution, and so on as long as the machine is in motion. The tuft guide starts to move from its position of rest, shown in Fig. 3, immediately after the staple guides have started to move upwardly, and as the upper parts of the plates forming the tuft guide are not connected, the tuft guide can turn while the staple guides are completing their upward movement.

What I claim is:

1. In a brush-making machine, the combination with reciprocating tuft-delivering devices, of a tuft guide adapted to receive said devices and comprising two parallel guide plates connected at their lower for-' ward edges by a bridge-piece, said plates extending above the bridge-piece, the rear edges of said plates and their forward edges above said bridge-piece being unconnected, and means for intermittently rotating said guide in time with the movements of said devices. I

2. In a brush-making machine, the com bination with reciprocating tuft-delivering devices, of a tuft guide adapted to receive said devices and comprising two parallel guide plates and a bridge-piece connecting the lower forward edges of said plates, a shaft secured endwise to the central part of one of said plates, said plates extending above the shaft and the rear edges of said plates and their forward edges above the shaft being unconnected, and means for intermittently rotating said guide in time with the movements of said devices.

3. In a brush-making machine, tuft guiding mechanism comprising a shaft and a tuft guide secured to one end of said shaft, said guide comprising two parallel spaced guide plates lying in planes at right angles in time with the movements of said devices.

5. Ina brush-making machine, the combination with reciprocating tuft-delivering devices, of a tuft guide adapted to receive said devices and comprising parallel guide plates and a bridge-piece connecting the shaft and guide to stop While said devices lower forward edges of said plates only, a are in the guide, and to complete the rotashaft having one end secured to the side of tion of the shaft and guide While said de- 10 one of said guide plates, and gearing adaptvices are retreating-from the guide.

ed to give a partial rotation to said shaft In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my and guide While the tuft delivering devices signature.

are approaching the guide, to allow said 7 CHARLES E. F ISHER; 

